Well done! Discovering this piece proves you must be pondering over your options, and if it’s re-training you’re considering that means you’ve taken it further than most. Can you believe that just one in ten of us consider ourselves fulfilled in our working life - but the majority will take no corrective action. We implore you to liberate yourself and do something - those who do hardly ever regret it.
We recommend you seek advice first - find someone who knows the industry; an advisor who can discover your ideal job, and analyse the courses you may be suited to:
* Do you want to interact with other people? If you say yes, are you a team player or are you hoping to meet new people? Or are you better working in isolation?
* Do you have a preference which area you could be employed in? (In this economy, it’s vital to get it right.)
* Having completed your retraining, would you like your new abilities to take you through to retirement?
* Do you want your retraining to be in an industry where as far as you can see you will be able to work until your pension kicks in?
We request you to consider the IT sector - there are more jobs than staff to fill them, plus it’s a rare career choice where the industry is still growing. Contrary to the beliefs of some, it isn’t a bunch of techie geeks staring at their computers every day (though naturally some jobs are like that.) Most positions are occupied by ordinary people who want to earn a very good living.
Traditional teaching in classrooms, with books and manuals, can be pretty hard going sometimes. If this describes you, check out study materials which feature interactive and multimedia modules. Research has consistently verified that an ‘involved’ approach to study, where we utilise all our senses, is proven to produce longer-lasting and deeper memory retention.
Fully interactive motion videos utilising video demo’s and practice lab’s will forever turn you away from traditional book study. And they’re a lot more fun to do. Be sure to get a look at some courseware examples from the training company. You should ask for slide-shows, instructor-led videos and virtual practice lab’s for your new skills.
Opt for CD and DVD ROM based physical training media where possible. You’re then protected from internet connection failure and issues with signal quality.
The area most overlooked by trainees considering a training program is that of ‘training segmentation’. Essentially, this is the method used to break up the program for delivery to you, which makes a huge difference to how you end up. The majority of training companies will set up a program typically taking 1-3 years, and drop-ship the materials to you piecemeal as you finish each section. If you think this sound logical, then consider this: Many students find that the company’s ’standard’ path of training isn’t ideal for them. They might find varying the order of study will be far more suitable. And what if you don’t get to the end at the pace they expect?
An ideal situation would be to have all the training materials packed off to you immediately; the complete package! Then, nothing can hinder your capacity to get everything done.
It’s important to understand: a training itself or a qualification is not what you’re looking for; the job or career that you’re getting the training for is. Too many training companies over-emphasise the actual accreditation. Never let yourself become one of the unfortunate masses that choose a course that sounds really ‘interesting’ and ‘fun’ - only to end up with a qualification for a career they’ll never really get any satisfaction from.
It’s well worth a long chat to see the exact expectations industry will have. What accreditations they will want you to have and in what way you can gain some industry experience. It’s definitely worth spending time setting guidelines as to how far you wish to go as it will often force you to choose a particular set of exams. Before you embark on a particular training programme, you’d be well advised to chat over individual job requirements with an experienced industry professional, in order to be sure the training course covers all that is required.
Huge changes are coming via technology over the next generation - and it only gets more exciting every day. Computing technology and interaction through the internet is going to dramatically affect the direction of our lives over future years; to a vast degree.
The standard IT technician throughout Britain can demonstrate that they earn much more than equivalent professionals in other market sectors. Mean average incomes are amongst the highest in the country. Demand for properly certified IT professionals is guaranteed for the significant future, because of the substantial growth in this sector and the massive deficiency still in existence.
It can be a nerve-racking task, but finding your first IT job is often relieved by training colleges, through a Job Placement Assistance service. Because of the great shortage of skills in Great Britain today, it’s not necessary to place too much emphasis on this feature however. It’s not as difficult as you may be led to believe to land employment once you’re properly qualified.
Help with your CV and interview techniques may be available (if not, see one of our sites for help). Make sure you polish up your CV immediately - not after you’ve qualified! Getting your CV considered is far better than not even being known about. A decent number of junior positions are offered to people (who’ve only just left first base.) If you don’t want to travel too far to work, then you may well find that a specialist locally based employment agency can generally be more appropriate than some national concern, for they’re far more likely to be familiar with what’s available near you.
Not inconsiderable numbers of trainees, it seems, invest a great deal of time on their training course (sometimes for years), and just give up when it comes to looking for a job. Introduce yourself… Do everything you can to put yourself out there. A job isn’t just going to bump into you.
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